The High Court of Imo State sitting at Aboh Mbaise, presided over by Hon. Justice Mike Onyekachi, has declined to grant an ex parte application filed by the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Owerri Branch, Dr. Mazi Udegbulem, seeking to restrain the committee chaired by Mr. Chidi Nworka from investigating him.

The court directed Udegbulem to put the respondents on notice and adjourned the matter to Wednesday, October 28, 2026, for hearing of the motion.

The court did not dismiss the application. It only declined to make the restraining order without first hearing from the respondents.

The committee Udegbulem seeks to restrain was constituted by resolution at the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Branch held at the Bar Centre on Thursday, October 15, 2026.

At the meeting, Udegbulem relinquished the chair following sustained objections to his presiding over proceedings concerning allegations against him. The five-member committee he had earlier constituted to investigate the allegations was subsequently dissolved by resolution, while a fresh five-member committee chaired by Mr. Chidi Nworka was appointed to examine the receipt, management and disbursement of the ₦100 million donated to the Branch by the Imo State Government.

The Nworka-led committee is expected to report to the Branch at a General Meeting scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2026, when the question of Udegbulem’s removal is also expected to be considered.

The court hearing will, however, come first. Udegbulem’s motion on notice is scheduled for October 28.

Two days later, on Friday, October 30, the three-member committee of national officers constituted by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, is expected to submit its findings and recommendations to her.

The following day, October 31, the NBA Owerri Branch will hold its General Meeting, where the Nworka-led committee is expected to present its report and the question of the Chairman’s removal may be considered.

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